I don’t know anyone personally who enjoys suffering. Looks for it. Welcomes it.
I know I don’t.
But in this broken world we cannot avoid it. Oh, our personal choices influence, even determine, the kind of suffering we might endure or avoid. But often it finds us anyway. Through no choice of our own.
Someone hurts our feelings. Offends us. Slights us. Intentionally or not. But that’s not the deepest of pain.
There is suffering that is gut wrenching. Heartbreaking. Almost life-ending. There’s no denying it. And I would not wish my darkest nights and hardest days on anyone.
But truly, out of our suffering come things that the easy way will never bring. Our response to the heartache and trials that invade our life has the potential to create beauty we’ve never considered.
It seems ridiculous to ‘consider it all joy when we face trials of all kinds.’ Right? Who does? Can?
My friends, fair doesn’t live on this side of the Garden. But Jesus does. And He will walk through every dark night and every hard day right alongside us. We might scream. Cry. Resist. Blame. Question. Pitch a fit. Wrestle.
But when we surrender to the One who loves us best, beauty will find us once again.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
JAMES 1
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.
I’ve come back to this James scripture more than I can even count during my seasons of suffering, only to realize (in the least couple years) that it’s only in this place of suffering that God brings out who we really are in him. That, and we underestimate what we can handle. We will forever have the upper hand because the upper hand has vowed to never let go of our hand. This is lovely. Thank you for this.😮💨👏🏾
Autumn, I’m so sorry for your pain. I would sit with you to catch your tears if i could. Suffering is no stranger to me either, friend. But you are so right, it’s where we find our truest selves, held in the arms of the One who loves us most.
Angi Aymond 
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